Succulent shrimp fried up with butter and loaded up with garlic and a hint of spice. Hawaiian garlic shrimp is a flavourful main dish that you can have ready to serve in under 15 minutes!
If you've ever been to Hawaii you may have had the pleasure of eating these tasty shrimp from one of the many food trucks that line the shore. There, the dish is simply known as garlic shrimp, but it deserves a distinction because Hawaiian-style garlic shrimp is honestly the best garlic shrimp ever!
The main difference between Hawaiian garlic shrimp and plain old garlic shrimp is the amount of garlic used - don't be shy with the garlic with this one, this recipe pretty much uses an entire head of it! The result is a more intensely flavour garlic shrimp that are completely addicting - these never last long in my house, and we happily eat them any time we are looking for a super quick main dish.
Why we love these shrimp so much!
- Full of flavour - if you are a garlic lover (like we are) you are going to love these! It might seem like a lot of garlic, but trust me, these are delicious!
- Quick & easy - most of the work here is in chopping up the garlic. After that, it's just a quick pan fry and you are good to go.
- Pantry recipe - with just a short list of common ingredients likely you already have everything on hand and can easily whip up a batch whenever the mood strikes.
Ingredients
- Shrimp. I used extra large sized shrimp. You can use bigger shrimp if you'd like, but you'll need to add the garlic a couple of minutes after the shrimp to make sure the garlic doesn't burn while the shrimp cooks.
- Butter - butter gives these shrimp the best flavour, but you could substitute for a high temperature cooking oil if necessary.
- Flour - to coat the shrimp with seasoning and to help thicken the butter sauce.
- Garlic - Always use fresh!
- Paprika - make sure to use regular paprika, not smoked.
- Cayenne - this is used as a flavour enhancer here, but if you'd like to spice it up a bit feel free to add more!
- Red pepper flakes - These are totally optional and add a hint of spice. Again, if you'd like to make these shrimp spicy add more.
How to make them
Season the shrimp. Dry the shrimp off with a paper towel then add them to a bowl along with the flour, paprika, cayenne, and red pepper flakes then season liberally with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Fry the garlic. Heat a large non-stick skillet to medium-high heat and add the butter. When it has melted, add the garlic and cook for about a minute before adding the shrimp.
Cook the shrimp. Add the shrimp to the skillet in a single layer. Cook the shrimp until they are opaque about halfway up then flip and cook for another couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and serve.
Tip: Cooking garlic at this temperature can burn it pretty quickly. If you are going to use larger shrimp for this recipe, hold off adding the garlic to the skillet until the shrimp have cooked for a minute or two on the first side.
More Recipes You'll Love!
If you liked these Hawaiian garlic shrimp, you might want to check out some of our other delicious shrimp recipes!
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Hawaiian Garlic Shrimp
Equipment
Ingredients:
- 1 lb shrimp
- 1⁄3 cup butter
- 10-12 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 Tablespoon flour
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1⁄8 teaspoon cayenne
- 1⁄2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Pat the shrimp dry with paper towel - this helps the flour stick to it better.
- Mix together the flour, paprika, cayenne and red pepper flakes then season well with sea salt and pepper.
- Toss the shrimp in the flour mixture and mix well.
- Heat a large skillet to medium high heat then add the butter. When it's melted, add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute.
- Add the shrimp to the skillet in a single layer. Turn halfway through.
- Serve the shrimp drizzle with the garlic butter in the pan.
Nutrition
* nutritional information is calculated by online tools and may not be 100% accurate.
Mary Tognazzini says
IS THE GREEN FLAKES JUST FOR LOOKS?
Courtney says
It's parsley, and yes, just for looks.
Alexandra says
So easy and very delicious - love the flavors, and garlic works so well with the shrimp.
MaryJo says
Would using Mochiko flour do anything to enhance the flavor? Sounds delicious!
Courtney says
I have not used Mochiko flour before, so I'm not sure!